Not going to pick through those notes, per usual, but did want to pull out the Globe’s nugget on Roy Oswalt: “To land him, Red Sox ownership has to loosen the purse strings. Simple as that. The geographic argument – that he wants to play in the Midwest or South – can be overcome with money, according to a major league source. Oswalt has yet to hear the number that will coax him out of retirement, but the Red Sox are going into the season deficient in pitching (compared with the Rays and Yankees) because they don’t have a veteran like Oswalt.”

Take that with a grain of salt. Not just because it’s an entirely fluid situation, but because the Sons of Sam Horn — who have a pretty active thread going deconstructing the Globe notes each week — pointed out two of its other nuggets are incorrect.

SOME ROSTER CLARITY?

Bobby Valentine, talking up Daniel Bard as a starter despite his allowing five runs, six hits and three walks in six innings against the Jays: “I liked him in between innings. I liked how he was responding to things. He worked runners when they were on base. He got ground balls when he needed to. Got some swings and misses when he needed to, too. I thought he had a really good look today. … Overall, I liked everything. Worked his way out of jams. Had some pitches that could’ve been called strikes (and) didn’t let it affect him. What was there not to like other than the five runs on the board?” (Herald)

Pitching coach Bob McClure on Felix Doubront’s strong performance on Saturday (six innings, one run) against Miami: “It’s a combination of good health and a sense of urgency. He has to earn it, and that’s the way we’re looking at it. We’re just not giving it away. … To me, he looked like a pitcher as far as what he could throw, when he wanted to throw it, slow or hard. That’s pitching.” (Globe)

McClure, it’s worth noting, has been perhaps the strongest public advocate of considering Alfredo Aceves for the starting rotation not named Alfredo Aceves. Aceves got shelled by the Phillies on Saturday, bench coach Tim Bogar noting that “it looked like he was out of sorts from the get-go. Seemed out of whack, didn’t seem like himself. I haven’t seen that since last August.”

Valentine on Doubront: “He’s progressed as well as anyone in camp.” (ESPN Boston)

Valentine on Mike Aviles’ performance at shortstop: “The whole spring, Mike’s made all the plays at shortstop and hit the ball hard most every game he’s played. And he looks like he’s taken to the position like a duck to water. … He’s started a lot of games already down here. He looks like a good player to me.” (Herald Notebook)

Bogar on Aviles: “When he got over here, there was some mechanical things he needed to clean up with his feet and his throwing. It all kind of worked together. He improved a lot by the end of last year. … He makes adjustments really quick. One of the things he does well was his backhand. He had a little bit of a mechanical issue there, and he cleaned it up and he just applied it again this spring after we refreshed it with him. He’s had no issues with it.” (ProJo Notebook)

Valentine on how the team will fill its 25th roster spot, at least until Carl Crawford comes off the disabled list: “That roster spot could be either a (relief) pitcher, a utility player, it could be an outfielder. It could conceivably be anything we want it to be, other than maybe a starting pitcher.” (Herald Notebook)

OK, maybe that last quote doesn’t really clarify anything.

GM Ben Cherington, on talk that he and Valentine don’t see eye-to-eye on how best to handle some roster decisions: “These are difficult decisions and they deserve to be debated, and people have the right to express their opinion and express it strongly and disagree. It’s healthy, as long as it’s handled the right way. To me, this is not about one person’s opinion ruling. It’s about a group of people trying to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team.” (Herald Notebook)

That’s an entirely mature response. No wonder people will read it and simply point out this stuff’s happening because Valentine isn’t “Ben’s guy.” (Gordon Edes appears to agree.)

Rob Bradford also makes an excellent point regarding the shortstop on WEEI.com: ”Mike Aviles has played in twice the amount of innings (91) as Iglesias this spring (45). … That playing time allocation reaffirms the notion that this decision has always been less about Iglesias — who has sparkled with the glove and improved with the bat — and more about Aviles.”

Bradford also throws a new name into the 25th man mix: Lars Anderson, noting he’s both made a positive impression on Valentine this spring and is already on the 40-man roster. (FWIW, so is Iglesias.)

PITCHING PATTER

Bard, on his Sunday outing: “I used all four pitches, a steady mix of all four. Really felt confident about it. I threw the changeup consistently, but I got some big outs on it. Breaking ball came and went throughout the day. I threw 25-30 two-seamers. I was able to work on a lot of things. Take the five runs out of it and I felt pretty good about it. … For the first time, I felt comfortable in my pregame routine. I had the times down on when to get ready and how many pitches to throw in pregame bullpen. And just sitting between innings and getting ready for the next one, because I didn’t have a lot of multiple-inning stints last year. I use that time to rest up and get out there the next inning.” (Globe)

Red Sox minor-league pitching coordinator Ralph Treuel, on Doubront: “He’s made the mistake a couple of times of maybe not putting himself in the best position, and he’ll admit that, too. He’s had a change of heart. It seems like he’s a different guy this year. He’s on a mission. … It’s pretty black and white. He’s got to go out there and use the ability that he has to get people out. If he gets people out, he’ll stay. That’s just the way it is.” (ProJo)

That story’s a pretty deep look at the 24-year-old, talking to Bard (who pitched with Doubront as far back as Single-A) and others in the Sox organization. Certainly feels like, much like with Clay Buchholz, we’re seeing the light go on with him.

Cherington, on settling the team’s pitching staff: “You look at the pitching solution for 2012, it’s not 12 names. It’s 20 or 25 names. So we’re trying to figure out who are the 20-plus guys that are going to help us the most over the course of the season, and how do we keep as many of those 20 guys as we can as viable options. … We knew this was going to be part of the challenge going into it. To some extent we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, moving a guy from ‘pen to rotation. That is a factor, and we believe that whoever doesn’t end up in the rotation can really help us in the bullpen. We just don’t know who it is yet.” (Herald)

An apology issued by Bobby Jenks regarding his arrest for DUI (among other charges) early Friday: “I am embarrassed by the situation and apologize to my teammates and to the Red Sox organization for any distractions I may have caused. I still need to let the legal process run its course and until it does, I will not be able to make any further comment.” (Globe Notebook)

POSITIONAL MATTERS

Valentine on why Kevin Youkilis didn’t make the trip to Dunedin for Sunday’s Toronto game: “(He) had a little stiffness in his lower back, so he stayed back for treatment. He’ll get minor-league at-bats tomorrow so he can get caught up — as many as he needs.” (ProJo Notebook)

Youkilis? Battling back stiffness? Never heard that one before. Except for all the times it happens every year.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, as part of a piece about his drive and leadership: “I always had ADD, that’s another reason why I woke up early. I was never able to sit still. I never really noticed it until my parents had me tested in, like, third grade. My grades shot up. I got, like, straight A’s. But I was on Ritalin, and in baseball I was so laid back and relaxed that I didn’t play well. My parents made the executive decision to take me off of it. My grades suffered again but I did well in baseball. It’s worked out.” (WEEI.com)

While I’m still throwing that in the mix for quote of the year, the next part of the story notes Saltalamacchia now takes Adderall (and has a theraputic use exemption from the league to do so).

Outfield prospect Ryan Kalish, who continues the slow road back from offseason shoulder surgery, on coping with scar tissue in his shoulder: “It’s just part of life. That’s it. So if it happens, it happens. But I think over time — I don’t know what my arm will be like this year. I’ve heard from people that have had this it’s not always that year. You’ll probably have the year after when you feel really good. So we’ll see. Just take it step by step. I just want to play. … I’m just going to keep working through it and if it hurts, it hurts.” (CSNNE)

The Globe’s Tony Massarotti: “We all know that Jose Iglesias probably is not quite ready to hit consistently in the major leagues, but many of us believe the Sox should give Iglesias the nod to start the year with the big club. … The team would benefit a great deal from having a young potentially dynamic player on its roster — even if Iglesias is only dynamic on defense — to start the season. Think about it: when was the last time the Red Sox had a rookie everyone could truly get excited about? Jacoby Ellsbury certainly comes to mind, but that was four years ago. When the Atlanta Braves were at the peak of their reign during the ’90s, the Braves liked to integrate about two new starters every three years, turning over the stock and keeping the team infused. Particularly in the wake of last year, the Red Sox could use the positive energy and bounce Iglesias would bring.” (Globe)

I don’t entirely buy the idea that the youth is a needed shot of dynamism on the roster, but I certainly think giving Iglesias a couple more weeks experience on the big club wouldn’t be the worst thing to do with him. Though carrying a 13th pitcher when the schedule starts out so tough and there’s so much uncertainty about roles does seem like the more mature thing to do.

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Jon Couture

Jon Couture has been covering the Red Sox for The Standard-Times since the 2003 playoffs, when management asked him the odd question, "Would you like to go to New York to cover the first two games of the ALCS?" Though he missed the memorable Don ... Read Full